


Phases

by kiss_me_cassie



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, F/M, Hints of Bestiality, Just Plain Ol' Werewolves, Mystical Creatures, NOT ABO IN ANY WAY, Threats of Violence, Watchers, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:41:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27307888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiss_me_cassie/pseuds/kiss_me_cassie
Summary: Clint knew Wizards, Werewolves and Vampires existed. He'd just never met any personally.  Until Natasha.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov, James "Bucky" Barnes & Clint Barton, James "Bucky" Barnes & Natasha Romanov
Comments: 19
Kudos: 39





	Phases

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as a tiny Trick or Treat ficlet for Inkvoices and Cloudatlas in 2017. And then it took on a life of its own. A very slow growing life. Which I was absolutely determined to finish by Halloween of this year.
> 
> Heavily influenced by some of Oz's storyline in BtVS. Because of course it is.
> 
> Much love to Orcas for her continued patience and nagging amidst the chaos of real life. And for amazing suggestions on how to fix a plot point I was struggling with.

Clint reached for Natasha's hand as they strolled back to her place after dinner, his fingers twining with hers. She smiled up at him and he nervously asked the question he'd been wanting to ask all night. "So… interested in another date tomorrow night? One that maybe ends with me fixing you pancakes the next morning?"

Her bright smile immediately dimmed and he noticed a visible tension appear in her shoulders. "Sorry. I can't."

"Ah! I get it. Hot date with another guy," Clint said with a teasing grin that belied the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. 

"I wouldn't say a hot date exactly, but Bucky is in town for a few days," Natasha admitted.

"Bucky, your foster brother?" Clint asked, curious as to why she hadn't mentioned him being around earlier. "Any chance I'll get to meet him this time? He's been in town twice since I've met you and I've yet to lay eyes on him."

"I don't know," Natasha hedged. "Maybe? I'd like the two of you to meet."

"You know, he can come over for pancakes, too," Clint offered with a smile. "But I warn you, the invitation to stay the night before doesn't extend to him. That's all for you."

Natasha laughed and stood up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. "I appreciate the thought, but not this time, I don't think. Maybe some other time?"

He waggled his eyebrows. "You're absolutely sure? I make a mean pancake."

"I'm absolutely sure. To be honest, it's less about Bucky and more because…" She stopped and nibbled her lip nervously before leaning in conspiratorially and whispering, "Well, because I'm a Werewolf."

"Ah, yes, the old Werewolf excuse. I'm well acquainted with it," Clint laughed. Everyone knew Werewolves were rare these days. None had been sighted in this particular area for several years now. "I mean, Wanda's a Witch and her brother's some kind of Seer, so why couldn't you be a Werewolf?" he joked.

She peered at him curiously for a moment but then pasted on a bright smile, one that seemed maybe a little bit too bright. "Ah, then you understand. As much as I'd love to see you again Saturday, I can't."

He frowned at her, not sure what to make of her mood change, but willing to accept that she was declining his offer. "Okay. I get it. Big plans with Bucky on Saturday. But I'll see you again on Sunday?"

She didn't say yes, but she definitely didn't say no. "We'll see."

\-----

Clint couldn't stop thinking about Natasha and the odd way she'd behaved the night before - the slightly tense set of her shoulders as she'd told him Bucky was in town, the curious looks she'd kept darting his way. They nagged at him. He needed to know what was going on with her.

By the next evening, he couldn't resist heading to her place to see her. He was halfway there when he stopped. She'd said Bucky was going to be around and that she wanted to spend some time alone with him. He should respect her wishes. He turned and started to head back towards the subway before saying screw it. 

He wanted to see her. It was that simple. What harm could there be in simply knocking on her door and seeing if she wanted to go grab a quick bite to eat or some coffee? The worst that could happen was that she'd say no. He could handle a no.

Quickly backtracking, he jogged the remaining block back to her building before bounding up the steps to rap sharply on her door. He waited a few moments and then knocked again. Maybe they had headed out to dinner or something. With a sigh, he turned and was about to head home again when the door jerked open.

"Yeah, what?" Bucky said as he yanked it open. Or at least, Clint assumed it was Bucky. Who else could it possibly be?

"Uh, hi, I'm Clint," he said, introducing himself a little uncertainly. It had never really occurred to him that Bucky would answer the door instead of Nat and now that he was confronted with Bucky in the flesh, he was a little flummoxed. "I don't know if Natasha's mentioned me?"

"She has," Bucky said, some of the hostility draining from his expression.

Clint shuffled his feet like a nervous high-schooler about to ask some girl's dad if he could take her to prom. "I was wondering if she -"

"No, she can't," Bucky cut in before he had a chance to say anything else.

"What do you mean, 'she can't'?" Clint said, scowling as impatience laced his voice. "You don't even know what I was gonna say."

"Sure I do," Bucky said. "And she can't see you. Not right now. She's… not well."

"I saw her just last night and she was fine."

Bucky glared at him. "She was fine." When Clint started to frown, he quickly amended his comment. "She _is_ fine. But -" He stopped and scrubbed a hand down his face. "Dammit, I _told_ her she needed to tell you," he mumbled before he looked up at the night sky and then back at Clint. "Did you happen to notice how bright it is tonight?"

Clint scowl barely dimmed. "Yeah, sure. It's a full moon."

"Fucking hell," Bucky breathed. "Yeah. It's a full moon. She didn't tell you _anything_?" 

"Yeah, she made a joke about being a Werewolf." Bucky stared at Clint intently for several long minutes, waiting for him to get it. When Clint finally did, he promptly sagged against the railing of the brownstone. "You mean she really is? She wasn't just kidding?" 

Bucky nodded. "Mostly. It's a little more complicated than that, but yeah, that's the gist of it."

Clint looked stricken and Bucky eased him down to sit on the step. "Why didn't she tell me? I mean, she _told_ me but I thought she was joking! I know beings like Werewolves and Vampires exist, but they're not, like, people you actually know!"

"Sometimes they are," Bucky said gently, sitting down next to Clint and awkwardly patting his shoulder. "Didn't Natasha say that one of your friends is a Witch?"

Clint waved his question away. "Witches in this day and age are a dime a dozen. So are Seers. Wizards are a little less common, but still common enough. But Werewolves are rarely ever heard of anymore."

An awful thought suddenly occurred to Clint and he shifted slightly away from Bucky, suddenly wary. Was he a werewolf too? Did Clint have to worry about him suddenly turning and attacking him, right there on the stoop?

"Are you…?"

Bucky snorted in amusement and shook his head. "Nope. I'm more of a Watcher of sorts. I look after her, make sure she stays safe when she changes, and that she doesn't do too much damage. That's why when she met you, she let you know we were family... of sorts."

"She made it sound like an adoptive family, not… " He took a deep breath and stood so he could pace around the sidewalk in front of the stoop. "I can't believe she's a Werewolf." He paused and then looked over at Bucky. "Can I see her?"

"Now?" Bucky asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Clint said, even more determined to see her now that he knew who and what she was. "It came as a shock, you know? But I want her to know it's not a deal breaker. I'm willing to learn - if you're both willing to teach me - how to do this. To have a relationship with a… with a Werewolf. She's worth it. "

Bucky was silent for a long while, but then he nodded. "It's still early. We should have a little time before the change. Let's go."

\-----

Bucky led him down the stairs to a bare basement room which had a small barred cell at the back. Natasha sat on a wooden bench within the cell, quietly reading a book. She looked up at their approach and stood, fingers curling around the metal bars as she looked from Bucky to Clint then back to Bucky again. 

She scowled at him. "Why did you bring him here?"

"I didn't bring him. He showed up all on his own." Bucky pushed his hair from his eyes. "And once I made your situation clear, he was determined to see you."

Her gaze shifted to Clint and her expression softened for a moment before the scowl came back. "So now you've seen me, you should go."

Clint held firm. Now that he knew who she really was, he wasn't going to let her scare him off. "No."

She was silent for so long that Clint thought she might seriously turn her back on him and not ever speak to him again. But after a few moments she looked up, a pleading look in her eyes.

"I don't have long before I change," she said quietly. "And it's not pretty, not like all the books and movies would have you believe."

"I don't care," Clint said, approaching the bars and placing his hands over hers. "I've fallen for you, Natasha, and I can't just un-fall for you because of this."

"Better men have," she said, looking down at their hands.

"Better men are idiots," he said, giving her fingers a little squeeze. "I want to know everything there is to know about you, including the messy parts."

She looked up in surprise. "You do?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry I didn't believe you when you told me about the Werewolf thing."

"It's not exactly the easiest thing to believe."

She shuddered, the skin of her arms rippling in tiny waves, and she snatched her hands away from the metal bars of the cage. Bucky approached and grabbed Clint's arm, pulling him back a few feet. "It's starting. We should go."

Clint looked at Natasha, concern written all over his face. "Will you be alright?"

She nodded and he realized her eyes had taken on an unnatural golden hue. "Yeah, I'll be ok. But Bucky is right. It's time for you to go."

He nodded and reluctantly let Bucky lead him a few feet closer to the stairs. 

"I'm not letting this stop us from happening," he vowed.

Her eyes glowed brighter. "I'd be very disappointed if you did."

\----

"So what now?" Clint asked after they'd made their way back upstairs.

"Now we go get something to eat," Bucky said, grabbing a leather jacket from the hook near the door. He shot a look at Clint as he shrugged it on. "I like to grab something early on so I can be back at the house later just in case anything comes up. Natasha said you were a sniper when you were in the military?"

Clint blinked in surprise at the sudden change in subject. "Yeah, but I don't really like guns much. Active duty kind of took the shine off of them. I'm more into archery."

Bucky fumbled in a footlocker and extracted a small sawed off shotgun. He held it out to Clint. "But you do know how to handle one of these?"

Clint took the firearm from him and inspected it for a moment, admiring the workmanship. He might not like guns much, but he could still appreciate when something was old, well-made and well-cared for, like this beauty was. That's when what Bucky had asked really sank in.

"You don't think I'll need it against Natasha, do you?" he asked, horrified.

"No, of course not," Bucky laughed as he took out another equally old gun for himself. 

"Then why?" Clint asked curiously. 

"Because not all Werewolves are responsible," Bucky explained as he extracted a box from the bottom of the locker and pocketed what looked suspiciously like silver bullets. "Some fuck the hell out of the local animal population and some even… well, I'm sure you've heard some of the other stories that get around. They've gotten a lot stealthier so you rarely see the results of their actions anymore, but they're still out there." 

Understanding finally dawned. Clint checked the safety on the shotgun and then tucked it beneath his jacket. He may not have been a sniper in the Army anymore, but he wasn't an idiot either. "You want to be ready if we happen to run into any other Werewolves tonight."

"Now you've got it," Bucky said, slapping a hand on his shoulder and guiding him out the door.

\-----

They sat at the counter in the tiny diner down the street, quietly sipping coffee while they waited for their take-out orders to be ready.

As they waited, Bucky explained how a typical night with Natasha progressed. "After she changes, she prowls the cell for a few hours, then settles down and sleeps for the rest of the night. I like to check on her a few times while she's sleeping, just in case. Then, in the morning, she's usually bitching about it being too damn cold down in the basement and complaining because I didn't remember to turn up the heat for her."

"How often does she change?"

Bucky hunched forward, his voice low. "There's no real science to it. She changes on the first night of the full moon and sometimes for a few nights after, but not always. Like I said, it's complicated. If you want to know more, you'll have to ask her. It's not my place to share her story."

Clint nodded. "What I don't understand is how you got involved."

"The place that turned her… They had me for a while and conducted some experiments. Not the same kind of experiments they did on her," he hastened to add. "But still, they were awful and horrific in their own way. I got injected with something that makes me… more. I'm not quite human, not quite immortal. When Natasha escaped from them, they sent me to track her down. But after getting to know her, I decided not to bring her back. I decided to join her instead."

"Steve," Clint said suddenly, staring intently at Bucky. "Natasha's talked about him like another brother, too. He's part of this."

For a moment, Bucky looked embarrassed. "Yeah. Different serum, different program, but Steve's a lot like me."

"At this rate, you're gonna tell me that the billionaire Tony Stark is some sort of supernatural being," Clint griped, taking another slug of coffee and wishing he had something stronger instead.

"Well, now that you mention it… He's a Vampire," Bucky said, grinning at him. "Totally different kind of creature but still supernatural."

Clint sat back and ran a hand through his hair. "Jesus! A fucking Vampire?"

"Yeah. Didn't you ever wonder? All that glass and chrome in his big fancy Tower, but not a single mirror? Especially for a man as narcissistic as he is?"

It definitely explained a lot. But it was more than a little hard to take in.

Bucky checked his watch, an old fashioned thing that looked like it still needed winding daily. It made Clint wonder just exactly how old he was. 

"Once the food is ready, do you mind if we take the long way back? I've been hearing rumors there's a rogue Wolf that likes to prowl over on Thurlow Street. Just want to check it out before we head back."

"Sure," Clint said.

"Great," Bucky said. The waitress brought out their order, all packed up and neatly stacked in a couple of bags, and he nodded his thanks to her.

"I wanted to ask," Clint said, eyeing all the styrofoam containers. "What was with that double burger with extra bacon and cheese order on top of your meatloaf and pie order? Are you really going to eat all that food?" he asked, incredulous.

"It's not all for me. The burger is for Natalia," Bucky said, laughing as he tossed some money down on the counter. "Changing takes a lot of energy. She's usually ravenous after a change." He sobered a bit and shot Clint a pointed look. "Something you may want to remember for the future."

\-----

"I"m sorry it took me so long to get in touch," Natasha apologized as they strolled through the park hand in hand on their way to brunch a few days later. "I wanted to call you earlier but…"

She trailed off and Clint pulled her to him in a hug, which she returned whole-heartedly. It had been hard waiting for her to make the first move after the night of her change, but he had been willing to be patient. It was the very least he could do for her. "It's ok. I get it. I was nervous, too, and didn't want to push you."

She pulled back and offered him a small half-smile. "This was monsters and magic and nothing you were prepared for. I should have told you sooner."

Clint leaned into her, lightly pressing a kiss to her forehead, before setting them back to walking on the path. "How about we both stop beating ourselves up about what we should have done and just enjoy the day today?"

Natasha nodded. "Bucky said you guys spent a good part of that first night hanging out together. Are you... ok with him?"

Clint shrugged. He'd been surprised at how ok he'd been with him."Yeah. He seems like a good guy."

She looked imminently relieved. "Good, because I invited him and Steve to join us for brunch today. It’s important to me that you guys all get along."

Clint squinched up his eyes and asked the hard question he'd been wanting to ask for days. "Uh, I know it's not my place because we never said we were dating exclusively or anything, but… you're not sleeping with Bucky, are you?"

The last thing he expected as a response was laughter, but that's exactly what he got. 

"God no!" Natasha exclaimed, when she'd finally stopped laughing long enough to speak. "With Bucky? No. Absolutely not."

He wanted to be offended, but mostly he was just relieved. "Because I'm ok with whatever Watcher/Werewolf bond you've got going on with each other and I'm not generally a jealous type, but I kind of want you all to myself."

"You sweet dumb idiot. You're ridiculous, but I love you." He stopped, stock still, and she tilted her head at him quizzically. "You didn't realize?"

He swallowed, overcome with emotion. "Ah… no. I had hoped. But, no, I hadn't realized."

She leaned over and gave him a soft kiss. "I do. Love you, that is."

He smiled goofily at her. "I love you, too."

\-----

After that, Bucky and Steve were no longer a separate part of Natasha's life. Clint even found himself hanging out with Steve and Bucky on his own a few times, without Natasha.

It was during one of those times that Steve mentioned how much of a strain being tied to the monthly calendar had become after all these years. Clint tentatively suggested that maybe he could help out, but then the subject changed and it hadn't come back up.

Which is why he was surprised when Bucky mentioned it one night as they were sitting out on Natasha's stoop.

"So I wanted to talk to you about something," Bucky said, taking a swig of his beer. "Steve and me, we're thinking about finally taking that trip to the Adirondacks - you know, that one we've been planning for about a decade now? - and thought maybe we should go this upcoming weekend."

"This weekend?" Natasha squeaked. "But it's nearly a full moon!"

"Yeah, so…" Bucky darted a look at Clint and shot him a small apologetic look. "Steve and I have been talking about that, too. We think maybe it’s time the two of us took a step back and let Clint start watching over you."

She looked over at Clint. "Did you know about this?"

"The three of us talked about it a little bit, yes, but nothing solid had been decided," he admitted hesitantly. 

"This was all me and Steve," Bucky was quick to add. "Clint had no idea we'd taken his suggestion of helping out to heart."

Clint reached for Natasha's hand and twined his fingers with hers. "Listen, Nat, it makes sense.They've been watching you for a long time now. Don't they deserve a break?"

"Yes, but…"

"But what?" Bucky asked gently.

She fidgeted but didn't let go of Clint's hand, something he took as a good sign. 

"I know it's overwhelming to contemplate a change this big in your life, but I think I can handle your care and feeding for one cycle," Clint said.

"I'm not a _pet_ ," Natasha snorted, frowning at both of them. "I don't need care and feeding."

Bucky and Clint exchanged smiles. If she was getting snarky with them, that meant she was starting to become open to the idea.

"Well, you need something," Bucky sassed back at her. "And Clint's a keeper. Right?"

She looked over at Clint and her expression softened. "Yes, he definitely is."

\-----

“So I was thinking," Clint started as they got ready for her lockdown a couple of nights later. “If you’re gonna be locked in the basement by yourself during your transformation maybe we should think about getting you some enrichment toys. We could get you a KONG or something. What do you think?"

"Didn't we already review how I'm not a pet?" she asked, glowering at him as she tossed the wool throw she favored into a corner of her cell.

He placed her copy of Pride & Prejudice on the bench. "No, of course not! But I've been reading up on my Werewolf lore and I've been thinking. Maybe the reason some of the strays Bucky and Steve keep hunting down keep creating so much chaos is because they're not getting enough mental stimulation. They're destroying things because they're _bored_."

She looked at him quizzically. "Bored?"

"Yeah. They have nothing to do once they change," he said, setting a water bowl and some sticks of beef jerky by the wall. "And unlike you, they don't necessarily have a Watcher to check in with them or keep them company."

"You know, Bucky never used to keep me company," Natasha noted as she ushered Clint out of the cell. "Are you planning to?"

"Was thinking about it, yeah," he admitted as he closed the barred door behind him and snapped the two padlocks into place. "To keep you from getting bored."

"You are completely ridiculous but also super sweet. You put a lot of thought into this, didn't you?"

Her fingers started to shimmer and he double checked the locks before taking a step back. "I just want you to, you know, be comfortable."

"Thank you. But if it's all the same to you, I think I'll skip the KONG," she said, making a face. 

He laughed. "Good enough."

\----

While Clint hadn't completely sold Natasha on any chew toys for her next transformation, the following month, when Bucky and Steve yet again came up with a clever plan to be out of town for the full moon, he decided to get a few anyways. What was the worst that could happen? She'd leave them in the corner of her cell untouched? Clint figured he could live with that.

He was checking out at the local pet supply store when he happened to catch sight of his friend Scott. 

"Hey!" he greeted Scott. "I didn't expect to run into you here. You guys getting a new pet?"

"Not yet, but Cassie's birthday is coming up and she asked for an ant farm. It's all she can talk about. She'd already picked out names for a bunch of them - Ant-thony, Ant-onia, Ulysses S. Gr-Ant," Scott said grinning. "Maggie's freaking out about it, but hey, the kid wants an ant farm, she's gonna get an ant farm."

"She's a great kid," Clint said chuckling.

"Yeah, she really is," Scott said. "Hey, since I've run into you… Luis and I were planning on going out tonight and maybe play a few rounds of pool. You wanna join us?" 

Clint shook his head and held up the bag of assorted toys he'd picked out. "I'd love to, buddy, but I can't, not tonight. I have to get home for a date with a big oversized puppy."

Scott nodded in understanding. "Maybe next week?"

"Sure," Clint replied. "My calendar should be free by then."

Clint started to walk away when he heard Scott calling after him. "Wait, since when did you get a dog? Maybe I could bring Cassie over and -"

Clint laughed. "It's kind of a new thing. I'm not quite sure I'm ready for friends to come over and meet her. Raincheck for next week?" 

Scott gave him a quizzical look but nodded again. "Sure."

Clint grinned and waved a hand over his shoulder as he walked away. Tonight was just about him and Natasha.

\-----

Natasha was prowling restlessly around her cell that night when Clint came downstairs to check on her around midnight. She stopped pacing and eyed him warily, her golden eyes unblinking as she watched him approach.

Spotting the KONG in the corner, he saw that it was well chewed and grinned. "See? I knew that you'd enjoy it. You should have listened to me."

Natasha shook her head and he was amazed once again at how beautiful she was as a wolf, all tawny red fur and graceful strength. She padded towards the bars and looked up at him, her tail wagging enthusiastically, which he took as agreement about the KONG. 

“Next time I'm getting you that giant rawhide bone," he told her. 

When she stayed near the bars, Clint reached through them and tentatively started to stroke the soft fur behind her ears. Would she continue to let him pet her? Or would she pull away to cower on the other side of the cell? 

She surprised him when not only did she let him keep petting her, but she pushed her head even closer to his hand and practically purred fur him. Did wolves purr? Probably not, that was more of a cat thing, but it certainly seemed that Natasha was enjoying herself.

"Do you like that?" he asked, pushing his fingers deeper into her tawny fur. The only response he got was a lick to his wrist.

"I'm gonna go get a blanket so I can stay down here with you a bit longer. It's nice with the heat turned up, but the floor can get a little cold sometimes," Clint said. "I'll be right back, ok?"

Natasha's head bobbed and he took it as a nod.

Running upstairs, Clint grabbed a couple of extra blankets then headed back to the basement. He was heartened to see that while he'd been away, Natasha had dragged her wool throw over towards the bars and arranged it into a comfy pile which she was now lying on.

He spread one of his own blankets on the floor next to the cell and sat down, his hand reaching through the bars to pet Natasha's head again.

She shifted, poking her muzzle through the bars to rest on his thigh, and closed her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm exhausted, too," he said, yawning and closing his eyes. "It's been a long day. How about we take a little nap and then in the morning we figure out what comes next."

\-----

The next morning, Clint woke up before Natasha. He startled a little to see her lying on the floor in her human state, her hand gently resting against his leg. He hadn't expected that they both would have slept through the night.

He paused a moment to admire the pale, naked expanse of her back before ever so carefully trying to extricate himself from beneath her arm and hand. Despite their relationship, knowing Natasha, she wouldn't appreciate him seeing her like this post transformation.

He wasn't wrong. Despite his slow, careful movements, she stirred awake. Still groggy at first, she didn't seem to react at all to where they were or her state of undress. But in seconds, she was scrambling backwards and away from him.

"Oh god, what did we do?" she whispered in horror. She reached for the throw she'd been lying on and clutched it to her naked chest.

Clint reached a hand through the bars, hoping like hell she wouldn't flinch even further away. She didn't, but he could tell it took a tremendous effort.

"Do you remember last night?" he asked gently.

She bit her lip then shook her head. "Bits and pieces, but nothing solid."

"You liked the KONG," he said with a wry chuckle, gesturing to the mauled toy in the corner. "When I came down to check on you, you seemed curious. You let me pet you. And then, well, I guess we fell asleep."

"I could have killed you!" she cried, her expression distraught.

"You didn't. You wouldn't," Clint assured her. "That's not who you are."

She shook her head. "I'm a Wolf, Clint. That's what I am. And you need to accept how dangerous I can be."

"No, you're a woman. Who happens to be a Wolf a handful of nights each month," he said, shrugging that little detail away. It didn't matter to him. She did. "And I am in love with you. All of you. Wolf _and_ woman. I know you would never hurt me."

"You really think so?" she asked dubiously, although Clint could see that she was starting to relax the slightest bit.

"I know it," he repeated, reaching into his pocket to dig out the key to the padlocks and clicking them open. He swung the cell door open and held out a hand to her. "So how about you go get dressed and I make you some pancakes for breakfast?"

She paused and for one brief horrifying moment, Clint thought she was going to say no. But then she smiled, a small hesitant smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"With sausage _and_ bacon?" she asked.

"For you? Absolutely anything you want," he said, tugging at the blanket to wrap it more snuggly around her then slinging an arm around her shoulders.

She burrowed into his side, tucking her head against his shoulder. "I think I would like that."


End file.
